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Pasquino or Pasquin (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Pasquillus'') is the name used by
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
since the early modern period to describe a battered
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the
Parione Parione is the 6th ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. VI, and belongs to the Municipio I. Its name comes from the fact that in the area there was a huge ancient wall, maybe belonging to the stadium of Domitianus; the nickname ...
district of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...
in the fifteenth century. It is located in a piazza of the same name on the northwest corner of the Palazzo Braschi (Museo di Roma); near the site where it was unearthed. The statue is known as the first of the
talking statues of Rome The talking statues of Rome ( it, statue parlanti di Roma) or the Congregation of Wits () provided an outlet for a form of anonymous political expression in Rome. Criticisms in the form of poems or witticisms were posted on well-known statues i ...
, because of the tradition of attaching anonymous criticisms to its base. The satirical literary form
pasquinade A pasquinade or pasquil is a form of satire, usually an anonymous brief lampoon in verse or prose, and can also be seen as a form of literary caricature. The genre became popular in early modern Europe, in the 16th century, though the term had ...
(or "pasquil") takes its name from this tradition. The actual subject of the sculpture is ''
Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus ''The Pasquino Group'' (also known as ''Menelaus Carrying the Body of Patroclus'' or ''Ajax Carrying the Body of Achilles'') is a group of marble sculptures that copy a Hellenistic bronze original, dating to ca. 200–150 BCE. At least fifteen Ro ...
'', and the subject, or the composition applied to other figures as in the
Sperlonga sculptures The Sperlonga sculptures are a large and elaborate ensemble of ancient sculptures discovered in 1957 in the grounds of the former villa of the Emperor Tiberius at Sperlonga, on the coast between Rome and Naples. As reconstructed, the sculpt ...
, occurs a number of times in classical sculpture, where it is now known as a "
Pasquino group ''The Pasquino Group'' (also known as ''Menelaus Carrying the Body of Patroclus'' or ''Ajax Carrying the Body of Achilles'') is a group of marble sculptures that copy a Hellenistic bronze original, dating to ca. 200–150 BCE. At least fifteen Ro ...
". The actual identification of the sculptural subject was made in the eighteenth century by the
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...
Ennio Quirino Visconti Ennio Quirino Visconti (November 1, 1751 – February 7, 1818) was an Italian antiquarian and art historian, papal Prefect of Antiquities, and the leading expert of his day in the field of ancient Roman sculpture. His son, Pietro Ercole Visconti, e ...
, who identified it as the torso of
Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...
supporting the dying
Patroclus In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's ''Iliad'', Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally ; grc, Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos, glory of the father) was a childhood friend, close wartime companion, and the presumed (by some later a ...
; the more famous of two Medici versions of this is in the
Loggia dei Lanzi The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pi ...
in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico a ...
, Italy. The ''Pasquino'' is more recently characterized as a
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
sculpture of the third century BC, or a Roman copy.


History

The statue's fame dates to the early sixteenth century, when Cardinal
Oliviero Carafa Oliviero Carafa (10 March 1430 – 20 January 1511), in Latin Oliverius Carafa, was an Italian cardinal and diplomat of the Renaissance. Like the majority of his era's prelates, he displayed the lavish and conspicuous standard of living that wa ...
draped the
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
torso of the statue in a toga and decorated it with Latin
epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two millen ...
s on the occasion of
Saint Mark Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...
's Day. The Cardinal's actions led to a custom of criticizing the pope or his government by the writing of satirical poems in broad
Roman dialect Romanesco () is one of the central Italian dialects spoken in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, especially in the core city. It is linguistically close to Tuscan and Standard Italian, with some notable differences from these two. Rich in ...
—called "pasquinades" from the Italian "pasquinate"—and attaching them to the statue "Pasquino". Thus Pasquino became the first "talking statue" of Rome. He spoke out about the people's dissatisfaction, denounced injustice, and assaulted misgovernment by members of the Church. From this tradition are derived the English-language terms
pasquinade A pasquinade or pasquil is a form of satire, usually an anonymous brief lampoon in verse or prose, and can also be seen as a form of literary caricature. The genre became popular in early modern Europe, in the 16th century, though the term had ...
and pasquil, which refer to an anonymous lampoon in verse or prose.


Etymological origins

The origin of the name, "Pasquino", remains obscure. By the mid-sixteenth century it was reported that the name "Pasquino" derived from a nearby tailor who was renowned for his wit and intellect; speculation had it that his legacy was carried on through the statue, in "the honor and everlasting remembrance of the poor tailor".


Tradition of wit

Before long, other statues appeared on the scene, forming a kind of public
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
or academy, the "Congress of the Wits" (''Congresso degli Arguti''), with Pasquino always the leader, and the sculptures that Romans called
Marphurius Marphurius or Marforio ( it, Marforio; Medieval la, Marphurius, ) is one of the talking statues of Rome. Marforio maintained a friendly rivalry with his most prominent rival, Pasquin. As at the other five "talking statues", pasquinades—irreve ...
,
Abbot Luigi Abbot Luigi ( Romanesco: ''Abbate Luiggi''; it, Abate Luigi) is one of the talking statues of Rome. Like the other five "talking statues", pasquinades – irreverent satires poking fun at public figures – were posted beside ''Abate Luigi'' in ...
,
Il Facchino ''Il Facchino'' ( it, Il Facchino, ''The Porter'') is one of the talking statues of Rome. Like the other five "talking statues", pasquinades - irreverent satires poking fun at public figures - were posted beside ''Il Facchino'' in the 14th and 15 ...
,
Madama Lucrezia Madama Lucrezia ( Romanesco: ''Madama Lugrezzia'') is one of the six " talking statues" of Rome. Pasquinades — irreverent satires poking fun at public figures — were posted beside each of the statues from the 16th century onwards, written as if ...
, and Il Babbuino as his outspoken colleagues. The ''cartelli'' (translated as posters, placards, boards; probably the equivalent of pamphlet) on which the epigrams were written were quickly passed around, and copies were made, too numerous to suppress.Copies in private daybooks have preserved some that were too scurrilous to print. These poems were collected and published annually by the Roman printer
Giacomo Mazzocchi Giacomo Mazzocchi, in Latin on his titlepages Jacobus Mazochius, (active 1505 — 1527) was a learned bookseller, printer, and noted antiquarian in papal Rome during the High Renaissance. A native of Bergamo, Mazzocchi is first heard of in 1505 as ...
as early as 1509, as ''Carmina apposita Pasquino'', and became well known all over Europe. The lampooning tradition was ancient among Romans. For a first-century versified lampoon, see
Domus Aurea The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part of the city.Roth (1993) It repla ...
.


See also

*The
Scior Carera Scior Carera (; ) and Omm de preja (; "stone man") are traditional, popular names used to refer to an ancient Roman sculpture located in Milan, Italy, at No. 13 of Corso Vittorio Emanuele (next to the Duomo).Scior Carera' Before being located w ...
in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...


Notes


References


"The Statue of Pasquino"
{{Authority control Hellenistic-style Roman sculptures Renaissance Rome Italian satire Italian political satire Talking statues of Rome Rome R. VI Parione Sculptures of men in Italy 1500s archaeological discoveries